


There Beneath

by CyberSearcher



Series: Various Technoshipping Works [3]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Isolation, Jay is sad, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, TechnoShipping, WALL-E AU, Wall-E is technically that right?, you can guess who is who
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23783887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberSearcher/pseuds/CyberSearcher
Summary: Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us whyYou had to hide away for so long (so long)Where did we go wrong?Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us whyYou had to hide away for so long (So long)Where did we go wrong?-Mr Blue Sky - ELOIt’s been longer than Jay cared to think since he’s seen a single living soul. He wanders the wastes, salvages food and scraps, comes ‘home’ and tinkers, sleeps, repeats. It’s a lonely life, but better than the alternative.He never expected to meet another human again. And he was right.Jay comes across a mysterious android.
Relationships: Jay Walker/Zane, Jay Walker/Zane Julien
Series: Various Technoshipping Works [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711813
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	1. Like the Dawn, You Broke the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Blame & Hail @coleisunderrated (best url) for this idea.
> 
> I don’t think I’ll do the whole movie, just some select parts. Feel free to do what you will with this AU. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.

“C’mon, open you overpriced sheet of shit!” 

Jay dug the blade of his hook flail into the air tight seam of the back doors to a _Buy ‘N Large Superstore_. After a few more minutes of struggling, the dusty teen hissed and pulled back. Looking down at his hands, he just sighed morosely and pulled back the ragged gloves. Spending a moment staring down at the layers of calluses, soot stains and blisters, he tugged his glove back on and reassessed the door.

“How are you even working? It’s been decades and everyone else has either given up or died. Why do you even bother keeping shut?” Jay kicked at the plastic. The dull, reverberating thud the only sound that echoed through the carcass of the building.

Fishing through his numerous pockets, he pulled out a small, cobbled together switch. Looking away and punching in the proper commands, Jay dared to squint at the door again.

“Oh come o - oho yes!” He swung the box of wires in the air, kissing the unreadable screen. “Thank you! Oh man, you’re a lifesaver.”

Grabbing a flashlight out of a pocket, Jay raised his muddied scarf to his face against the thick sheet of dust that blanketed the storeroom. Save for that, everything looked practically untouched. 

This time, the plastic of the packaging was much more amiable compared to the door and the freckled teen tore through it with ease. With a growing grin, he stuffed cans of beans only a year past expiration and a whole six pack of clean water into his pack. Marvling at his luck, Jay continued down the cavernous room. 

“Hey! If anyones hunting me down to cannibalize me, don’t bother!” Jay yelled into nothing. “There’s way more stuff in here than I’ll ever be worth! Just don’t be a stranger!” 

On one of the scaffolding shelves, Jay found one box of cardboard that was tucked so far into the back he had to practically crawl in to reach it. Sitting down on the concrete and holding the flashlight between his teeth.

Peeling of tape - actual tape - from the thin cardboard, Jay grinned best he could and raised one of the cassettes to the light. Taking back the light, he began reading through each of them.

“Nineteen seventy… wait nineteenth century!?” Jay exclaimed. “No way! No way! This is genuine! Who’s the brainless heathen dick that left you back here, you’re worth at least a dozen of me in platinum and uranium!” 

Stashing them hastily but carefully into whatever empty pouched - Jay was forced to reorganize at least three - he re-slung his backpack and made his way out of the Superstore and pulled down his goggles to shade his eyes from the light. 

As he walked down burnt out and trash packed streets, Jay held an array of finer tools in his mouth while he used his hands to fiddle with the wiring of a broken device. He was sure it could make noise - the head splitting shriek it emitted when he tossed it over his shoulder was proof - and it wasn’t even that damaged. But the parts were rare and retro. 

Muttering to himself as he stepped over destroyed android shells, Jay dropped the tiny gear into place, reset the fresh batteries he’d found, then popped the cassette tape into the broken slot. 

“Please? If that sticky fingered fuck can keep workin’ why can’t you?” Jay scolded the device. 

It’s gears spun in place for a long, silent minute. The teen leaned his ear into the mismatched speakers and then he heard the melodic muttering. Excitement lit up his face and he immediately cranked up the volume. 

_Fortune, fortune  
smile and fade  
Haven't seen you much of late  
I need you now, cannot wait - _

“Aww.” Jay sagged slightly. “I mean, okay. You’re alright, better than hearing myself all day.”

He slid the music player into the knot of his belt. He found the singer's deep voice pleasant as he climbed his way up the mangled metal of only god-knows-what that led to the broken highway his home was perched on. 

Above him, Jay heard a squawk. “Ugh, I take it back. I’d rather hear myself all day than your overgrown chicken ass.”

The Falcon - Jay never bothered naming it - was perched on a bent streetlamp. It’s feathers were tattered, but it’s claws were still sharp to slice through soft skin. Jay rustled around his pockets and satchels before pulling out a meager handful of jerky. 

He tossed it unceremoniously behind him, knowing the Falcon would follow. “Take it, turkey legs.” 

Jay didn’t look back, but he heard the birds screech as felt the wind billow against the curls of his neck. Most of the street was clean - he’d been way too bored - and he didn’t bother picking through the cars or trucks. Jay had already extracted all their fuel and pulled out all their electronics and seat stuffing.

Idly zooming in and out of random objects, he caught sight of the horizon. Jay’s smile fell.

“Oh shit.”

He dashed towards his base. Only about a dozen feet away, but the sandstorm rampaging across the horizon was faster. The falcon seemed to realize this too and dove after him. It swaked and clawed at the closed metal door as Jay frantically punched in the code.

“Shut up, shut up, I get it I learned my lesson last time I got sand stuck in my - ah!” He slammed down the lever and slipped through the crack in the door. “Yes! Get inside!” 

Falcon hoped in just as Jay closed the door. He ripped off his goggles and sagged against the door. Panting, he fished out one of the water bottles. “I totally deserve this, and even though you don’t guess you can have some too.” 

Carefully tipping some of the liquid into a shallow tray, Jay unpacked the rest of his scavenged supplies. Inside the broken fridge he shoved the cans among stacks of similar containers and a box of twinkies he was saving for his next birthday.

Lining the walls were rows and rows of rotating cubes. Jay saw some robots that would’ve fit the mold, but the last one must’ve shut off years ago. Now they served the all important purpose of storing his junk and odd usable part Jay could salvage. Shoving the new pieces into place in no obvious order, Jay set the paused music player on top of a scrap metal desk and hunched over the cheap radio he’d scavenged. 

There was a broken part of the truck he’d covered with a big chunk of glass from a storefront window. Now the sand and grit sliced against the surface. “Guess you’re not getting any sunlight today. But I did get you some water. If I’m parched, can’t imagine how you feel.”

The little green stalk was the only naturally green thing Jay could ever recall seeing in his lifetime. He considered it a blessing when he found it in the same fridge he was using now. Taking one last gulp of water, Jay poured the rest into the radio and watched the soil soak up the moisture. 

He stretched and reached back for the TV he’d rigged together. There was only one movie Jay had and it only ever played the first ten minutes, but it was something good to listen to while he worked. 

“Okay, check up time. Tell Doctor Jay what’s the problem?” He spoke to the whirring engine as he stuck his head into it’s churning guts. “Mhm, okay. Looking as filthy as yesterday. Just keep pumping, I’ll get you some more gas later.” 

The teen inspected the lights system, the on and off cooling system he had and rotated through shelves for the parts he needed for that sorting robot he needed badly. 

As he reached up for the right circuit board, Jay heard the movie stutter and waited for it to repeat. When it began to play a new song, he hit his head when he jerked the row onto his head.

“What the heck man?” Jay groaned. He could swear the falcon was laughing at him. “Shut up. Let me hear this.”

It was grainy footage, but the image was still clear. A man and a woman, clearly lovers, holding hands on a moonlit night. They sang to one another about love and endless time together. Jay quickly shut off the TV and ignored the prickling in his eyes.

Shutting off the lights, Jay flopped into the mess of blankets and stuffing he called a bed beside his bench. 

“Don’t wake me up, stupid bird.” 

**::::**

The next day, of course the bird had to wake him up. 

Something was scratching at his scarf and Jay bolted up to fight it off before it tore it to shreds. The falcon hopped off the pile, threads of dirty orange caught in it’s claws. It tucked its head into its feathers and began to preen itself, unashamed. 

“Screw you.” Jay muttered, wrapping his scarf tighter around his face. “Screw you, I should’ve left you on that street corner.” 

He rolled over, dragging the pillow he’d been hugging in his sleep over his face. “But I didn’t.” He sighed. 

Dragging his fingers through the thicker knots and bucking on his belts, Jay grabbed a can of chilli from one of the cubbies for lunch before opening the door. He kicked away the piles of sand at his feet as he strolled back to the city. 

The music player was a beautiful replacement for the drone of shifting metal and plastic as Jay dug through piles of trash. As the morning stretched on, Jay found himself perched on top of an beat up jeep while he waited for his solar cooker to heat up his food. 

“Hmm, car, house, bug, cat?” Jay pointed to the amorphous clouds above him. “Is that what cats looked like? Eh, not like anyone can tell me I’m wrong. Oh, nevermind, that was a train. Stupid.” 

He continued speaking through mouthfuls of starchy tomato paste. Eventually, he slid off the jeeps side and continued his scavenging. 

Walking to where he knew some good mechanics could be cannibalized from, it lead the teen to the outskirts of the city. Sliding down the sides of the short cliffs, Jay dug his hands and tools into the guts of oversized bulldozers and foreclifts. 

He had taken a small break to manage his spoils when he spotted something off in the distance to his left, reflected off the skyscrapers glass. At first, Jay removed his goggles, cleaned them, put them back on, then cleaned them again. 

“A laser pointer from heaven?” He said. “Okay, it’s official, I’m going crazy. I’m nuts. Goodbye my final brain cell, you will be missed.” 

Jay elected to ignore it. Until he saw a row of red dots run over his feet and towards the wastes. He flinched, jumped up and zoomed in on where he saw them going. 

“What the - ” The teen saw a stretching line of more red dots begin to run from the city and off to some distant point. “Where is… is this what hallucinations feel like?” 

With nothing better to do, Jay began to jog towards the lights. There was the occasional oil pump he passed, but once he was about a dozen away, he finally looked up when he heard the sky thunder.

“Shit!” 

A mass of white orange light was coming down from the sky. He would have passed it off as another hallucination, but the blasting heat and tossed sand felt too real on his exposed skin. Scrambling for somewhere to hide, Jay curled behind one of the oil rigs. 

He pressed his face between his knees as he felt the winds from whatever was coming burn hot against his back and whip his scarf against his sides. 

Tears pricked in his eyes. “If you’re finally gonna kill me, why’d you have to choose a meteor?” 

Jay waited for an explosion, an eruption, for some titanic force to throw him off his feet. But soon, the gales stopped. He flexed his knuckles from their steel grip and cautiously looked up. Sand and pebbles were caught in his hair and he coughed at the cloud of dust that permitted the air.

It made it difficult, but not impossible to see the massive white ship looming over him. Jay started, jaw hanging loose. He jumped back behind his cover as something hissed from the ship. 

“Aliens?” He muttered, then slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his monologuing. “Stupid, shut up, shut up.” 

Watching with mute fear and shock, Jay saw some sort of dispenser split from the tops of the hulking structure, flip forward and push something forward. Whatever it was, Jay didn’t see any cameras or portholes someone could be watching out of. 

He dared to move closer, crawling forward and staying crouched behind rubble and twisted metal. A probe folded itself down, punched in a command into a switch he couldn’t see, then retracted into the rest of the ship. 

Jay watched the pod anxiously, but this time reacted quicker when the ship's massive jets began to rumble. At least this time his hair was mostly free of debri. Poking over the large stone, Jay considered poking around whatever the ship had dropped. Questions began to form; who was that? Were those really aliens? Or are there people still alive?

All of them fell flat on his lips when he saw the body kneeling on the ground.

He was about to rush over and ask if they were okay. Then Jay saw the way the sunlight reflected off perfectly clean chrome plates. He watched the android blink and two bright blue eyes faded into view.

It was such a vibrant shade, the kind he’d only catch glimpses of in ripped postcards or paintings. The kind he’d imagined ice or snow would’ve been. 

The android stood - at least a foot and a half taller than him - and began to look around. Jay found himself blushing when he saw that the android wore nothing, then berated himself for questioning why that was an issue. He hid before he could see him, panicking over what to do next. 

Jay heard footsteps and watched as the android began to slowly pace across the dusty earth. A matching light was cast from his eyes as he began scanning the ground. A sequence of beeps followed, then the scan stopped and he moved to another patch of dirt. 

Jay was curious, so he followed him. 

He ended up wandering all the way back to the city by nightfall. Jay had abandoned his normal routine in favour of watching this strange and beautiful android. He’d seen the broken parts of the long dead, but this was beyond anything he could’ve imagined. 

“You’re desperate, aren’t you stupid” He confessed. 

They’d just made it to the outskirts of the industrial sectors. Jay watched as the android scanned a stack of old tires before stepping back and kneeling in the dirt. Another distinct hum was heard and Jay felt confident assuming he was asleep. 

He didn’t even consider going back to his base. They teen resolved to pull together the tires and broken wood into a bed. Jay peeked over the pile he hid behind and a ping of sympathy rang through him. 

It got colder in the night and Jay knew how stupid of an idea it was, but he pulled off the tarp he found, snuck forward and carefully draped it over the androids sleeping form. 

His eyes were closed, but thin seams of light could still be seen under his lids. He didn’t breathe, but he could hear a pleasant, ambient humming from him. In the starlight, he didn’t look any less brilliant. What stars that shone through the smog cast his silver skin in a veil of cool light. 

Jay spotted the falcon overhead, staring down at him. 

“Shut up.” He said to it. “Just… just don’t poop on him. Ok?” 

The Falcon didn’t acknowledge his statement, but it did flutter down closer to the android before it tucked its head under its wing. Jay decided its was best to follow their lead. Resting his head on his arm, he could still see those eyes as he fell into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not responsible for Cavities. 
> 
> (Also, might take a small break after next RfaR chapter. Next up, catch me writing some Snake Jaguar & low key Polyninja lets goooo.

Whenever he dreamed, Jay couldn’t remember much. Some days he’d go through half his routine, then wake up halfway and realize he was still asleep. Others were half-forgotten, half-imagined memories of his childhood. Those were the ones he was both relieved and saddened to forget in the morning. 

This was a departure. He walked through a painting, a forest of saturated browns and greens. The cool wind blew away the grime from his cheeks. It felt wonderful and Jay just stood under the sunlight and sweet air. 

He laughed, closed his eyes and leaned forward into the light. 

Then he found the colours begin to fade. Jay could feel the soreness of his body from sleeping on such a hard surface. There was someone shining a light in his eye. He assumed it was the sun.

Cracking open one sleep-sand crusted eyelid, twin spheres of blue stared back at him. The teen scrambled to throw off his sheets, but ended up tangling his feet and rolling off into a bruised heap on the dirt and asphalt. 

“Oh god. Why? Can’t I catch a break already?” Jay groaned, kicking away the offending fabric. He felt a soft sting at his elbow and looked to see a smear of red down the faded blue. 

As he pulled himself up from the dirt, he realised the android was still staring at him. “Uh… h-hi? I’m Jay and… oh wow you’re really shiny. Crap I said that outloud, I said that too didn’t I? Oh god, shutting up now.” 

He wanted the ground to split open and drag him under. The android didn’t respond, but he did tilt his head. Jay - reluctant to leave even with the awkward air - sat on the tires. The silver man didn’t move, so he patted at the seat next to him.

“You wanna sit down?” He offered. “I mean, if you want? I’d like it if you did. Not that you have to, I mean… shutting up again. Sorry.” 

This time Jay hid his face in his hands. Beside him, the rubber dipped and he had to catch himself before he fell over again. Fingers brushed against cool metal and the human prayed he didn’t blush. 

“So, do you have a name?” Jay asked meekly, playing with the hem of his scarf. “I’m Jay and - I already said that. Stupid. Sorry.” 

The android didn’t say anything at first. He just continued to stare, tilting his head quietly to the side. That same blue scanning effect suddenly projected from his eyes, running down his body. It made Jay tug at his shirt even after he was done.

“What was that?” He wondered aloud. 

Jay watched blankly as the scan was finished. The android stood and began to walk away from him. “Okay? So, you can tell me your name later! I guess.” 

Falcon hopped down from his perch atop the stack. He almost looked sympathetic. 

Even with the stinging dismissal, the teen continued to follow the android. It became clear after a few more hours that he was searching for something. He watched him turn over garbage cans, broken chunks of wood and peek inside shop front windows. For what, Jay had no clue. 

Hunger began to gnaw at his guts around mid-afternoon. He watched from a few meters away as the android poked around the base of one of the towering mounds of trash. Nibbling on a stale granola bar, he contemplated just leaving him for good. 

The Falcon had actually managed to glide closer to the metal man and now sat perched on his head. The android didn’t shoo him off, but he didn’t seem to register the bird either. Every now and then, he’d scratch at his polished finish or peck at his eyes. Jay considered throwing a stone at the bird to get it to stop. 

“The one time I get some company, they can’t even speak.” He said to himself. Hoping off the fallen mailbox, Jay made his way over to the trash pile. “May as well bring something home.”

Every so often, he’d glance up to the mound with anxiety. It was formed at the base of one of the many skyscrapers. Jay never scavenged around it - the garbage was probably the only thing that held it up - and every so often he’d hear something creak. 

“Hey,” He called out to the android, “whatever you’re looking for probably isn’t here. Maybe you should go somewhere else. It isn’t safe here.” 

As if on cue, the building above rumbled and shook. Jay hastily scrambled back, nearly tripping over more trash. “Guy? Android? Seriously, this is a really bad place. We should go.” 

Something large fell behind him. Jay didn’t bother looking behind him. He ran forward, grabbed the android and bolted. The looming structure let out one final, moaning screech as glass began to rain from above. 

They cleared the area, but the ground still rippled as the behemoth fell. Jay was knocked off his feet, the androids behind him tripping after. A rush of sand blew down his neck and he coughed as it filled his mouth. 

“Oh god, we are not doing that again.” Jay pushed himself up. “Shiny? Shiny!”

He stumbled forward when he saw the frantic blinking of blue from the rubble. Pulling down his goggles, Jay found the android struggling to push away from a twisted mess of concrete and metal that held his arm in place. 

The android let out a series of fast beeping and static. Jay distantly wondered if they meant anything. He snapped back to the present.

“Oh sh - hold on.” Searching for something he could use as a lever, the teen grabbed another piece of rebar and wedged it between the androids arm. “I’m sorry if this hurts. Stay still and get ready to run. I dunno if this’ll collapse.”

Pushing down with what little weight he had, Jay heard the tense grating of metal on metal. Above him, one of the thicker slabs shifted ominously. The android kept pushing to free himself. Just as he yanked out, Jay could only watch as the concrete came sliding down towards him. 

Then someone grabbed the back of his scarf, yanked him back and threw him to the ground once again. The teen was breathing fast and hard as the adrenaline ran through his system. 

He was lying on someone. Jay rolled off to find the android lying in the dirt below him. “You - oh god. Thanks for that. But still! I told you not to go there! What the hell!” 

The android was still making those odd beeping sounds. “Oh sure, you’re just a robot. Too bad! You’re the best company I’ve had in years! I’m not gonna let you die in such a stupid way.”

The Falcon was staring at him now. Jay just continued ranting.

“I mean, thanks for saving me. I mean, if that killed me, I wouldn’t have minded but then you’d be all alone and that’d suck. Oh crap, your arm! That was probably my fault. Maybe I could fix that? God but you’re so complex, not that it’s a bad thing! I should do something about that at least.”

“Z _a_ \- ne.”

“I could clean you up at least a little. You’re still so shiny how are you - “ Jay did a double take. “What did you just say?”

The android pointed to himself, voice still laced with noise. “Za - ne.”

“Zanne?” Jay repeated. “I - no offence but that’s a sucky name. What about just Zane?”

“Zane?” He echoed. “Zane. Zaaaaaane.” 

Jay grinned as the android kept repeating his name with different tones and pitches. “Yea! Nice to meet you Zane! C’mon! I’ll show you to my home, it’ll be way better than sleeping in this shitstack!”

Zane gave him another one of those curious head tilts, but the enthusiasm of the human drew him forward. Jay had to stop himself from just rushing ahead, constantly urging him forward. Zane soon picked up his pace, vaulting over fallen debri. 

He was panting hard as finally managed to catch up to the android. “You… stupid metal…. shiny thighs. That’s so not fair!” 

Zane smiled down at him. The curve of his lip was small, instead, it was in his eyes. Arching up and glowing brilliantly, Jay quickly shut off that train of thought. 

“So, yea.” He said. “Welcome home.” 

The teem felt oddly self conscious as he led the android inside. Fiddling with the lights, Jay spent several extra seconds re-connecting the series of fairy and christmas lights strewn across the roof. 

He gave weak jazz hands. “Ta-da. Gimme a sec to find what I’ll need. Uh, here! Wanna see what this does?” 

Jay scrambled through his cubbies to try and find something to entertain the android. He gathered a Rubix Cube, some bubble wrap and a wind up car.

“Here! Look.” He fiddled with each. “You gotta make all these the same colour. And these are just super fun to pop! Feel free to look around.” 

The android watched with an enamoured expression. It was cute, Jay had to admit that. Zane quickly figured out how to pop all the bubbles by squishing it into a ball. As the teen searched for his tools, Zane handed him back the completed cube.

“Wow.” He stared. “Show off.” 

This time, Jay knew that the beeping meant Zane was laughing. 

He flicked through rows to try and find the spool of wire. Jay heard something bump the back of the truck, followed by heavy metal footsteps. 

When he turned, he found the android chasing the little wind up car back and forth on the ground. In a fit of mischief, Jay grabbed half a dozen more cars and let them loose. 

“Fun!” Zane called out, trying to snatch the little toys as they zipped across the floor. Even the Falcon would dive to catch the little cars. 

Jay had to watch his step as he set everything down on the bench. At his feet, one of them hit his foot and Zane wasn’t looking up.

He charged into his midsection, tossing them both into the stuffing bed. Jay quickly found himself pinned under the nindroid, with either of his silver arms at both sides of his hips. Zane didn’t take notice of the expression, more focused on looking for the car. 

“M-maybe that’s enough for now.” Jay carefully rolled the android off him. “Here, lemme see your arm.” 

Zane let out a sound he could only describe as a sigh. But he obediently held out his forearm. Reaching up, Jay took one of the pliers and pulled out a shard of glass caught in the metal. 

He tried not to think about how smooth his fingers were in his grip, how they responded to each prod from the pliers. Most of the casing was denting and Jay managed to pull out the worst of them. He reconnected wires and checked for more loose debri. 

“Wow, your circuits are beautiful.” Jay whispered. “I… oh god I hope you don’t understand this.” 

There wasn’t anything else to fix, so the teen folded back what he could and carefully welded the seam shut. “Okay. Yea. That’s good. Feel alright?”

Zane examined the work, reaching up to trace the bumpy weld. Jay was still holding his other hand and went to let go. But his grip suddenly tightened. 

“Jay?” He asked, sliding his hand up to where he’d fallen before. “Your arm?” 

“Oh. Yea. It’s fine.” Jay shrugged. It stung, but it wasn’t serious. 

The androids gaze lingered on the pale patch of skin and scabbed blood. One finger reached up to trace the edges of the wound. Jay hissed and flinched back. 

“D-don’t do that.” He said. “You can keep looking around. Um, if you want. You can go, I guess.” 

He stuck his head in the fridge, pretending to look for something to eat. Zane sat up from the bedding and made his way to the T.V. Leaning down to inspect the box, he ran his fingers over the broken buttons. 

Jay hit his head when he heard the same song from last night begin to play. Taking out some cold soup, he turned to see the android leaning into the screen. 

Zane kept tilting his head. Blinking owlishly, he watched the actors holding hands on the staticy screen. Jay wanted to rush over and shut it down, but he didn’t want to do that to the android just because he couldn’t stand seeing people in love. 

Sticking the can of soup by the generator to heat up, he went about stuffing supplies into random cubbies. He let his mind wander, trying to sort through his mess of thoughts.

“I mean, I guess he’s cute. But you know how ridiculous this is right?” Jay muttered. “He’s kinda weird, well what’d you expect? Still, he’s nice. Wonder what kinda personality he’s got. Does he have one? I guess.” 

He kept speaking to himself, he didn’t notice Zane stepping towards him till he felt someone tug at his scarf. The android handed him the can of soup. 

“O-oh. Thanks.” He said. 

Plopping back onto the bedding, Zane followed him, now fiddling with a Yo-Yo. Jay ate and asked questions between mouthfuls, curiosity outpacing his embarrassment.

“How much can you speak? Only a little?”

“Li-ttle.” 

“Huh, maybe I could find a book for you. Did you come from space?” 

“Spa-ace?” 

Jay pointed up. “Space, like, stars and stuff. Do you know what a star is?” 

“Star?” 

“Guess that’s a no.” Jay tipped back the last of the soup. “Are you here for something?” 

Zane’s answer came quickly. “Classified.” 

“Sure, you keep your secrets.” Jay shrugged. “Hmm, what’s your power source? I don’t see any solar panels.” 

He hesitated. “Sorry,” Jay said quickly, “that’s probably really invasive by robot standards.”

But then Zane shook his head. Looking down to his chest and raising a hand, he pressed over where his heart would be. A glowing seam emerged and a small panel popped away. 

“Oh.” Jay said softly. “Wow.” 

A ring of pale blue pulsed with the same quiet hum that he always made. “Wow. That’s amazing. Can you tell me who made you? What’s it like up in space? How many stars are up there?” 

He tried to stop rambling - he didn’t even know if Zane knew half the words to respond - but he couldn’t help it. Occasionally he’d get a one word answer from the android and that was enough for him now. 

Zane watched his animated expressions with a reflected curiosity. He’d point to objects and listened to the human go on about their use. But soon, Jay’s answers grew shorter, slower. Eventually, the teen stretched his arms and yawned. 

“Man, I’ll find you some books in the morning.” Jay promised. “Can’t believe you’re not sick of me yet.” 

The mental man just laughed. “Talking fun. Jay is fun.” 

“Oh you flatter me.” 

He flicked of the lights and pulled out a blanket from under him. “Do you - stupid question - but do you sleep? Just, here. Lie down. Relax. Feels great I promise.” 

Zane followed the humans' actions, finding himself staring up at the dark ceiling. Beside him, Jay snuggled deeper into his blanket and squinted in the light of his eyes.

“Night Zane.” 

The human beside him grew quiet after that. With nothing better to do, Zane closed his eyes. The bed was comfortable and the presence of the other felt good. Even if he couldn’t sleep, the simplicity of just doing nothing was nice. 

At some point in the night, Zane felt the bedding shift. He thought Jay had awoken, but found that he’d somehow rolled over in his sleep. He kept tossing around, kicking off blankets and burying his nose into pillows. 

One arm reached out over the android. Zane froze with uncertainty. Jay tugged himself forward and pressed his face into his shoulder. A soft, pleaser hum floated out of his throat. 

Jay was warm and soft, even softer than the bedding. Zane leaned down to brush his face against his hair. It felt different, but just as sweet. Mimicking what he saw on screen, he quietly laced their hands together. 

“Night Jay.”


End file.
